A simple and delicious weekday recipe to get cups of veggies in with your Mac and “cheese” craving. This skillet is ideal for one hungry herbivore looking for next day lunchtime leftovers, but can also be prepared in a casserole dish for parties and larger groups. Serve it with a side of home-made ketchup or hot sauce to really punch up the variety of flavours. This recipe is vegan, gluten-free and nut-free.

Broccoli Mac and Cheese Skillet

• Prep Time:  20 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time:  40 minutes
• Course: Dinner
• Cuisine: Canadian
• Servings: 4 people

Ingredients:

• 1 package of Chickapea Vegan Mac
• ¾ cup plant milk (oat milk used for thickness)
• 2 Tbsp vegan butter
• 3 cups of fresh broccoli florets
• 2 large russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 carrot, peeled and cubed
• 1/8 tsp finishing salt
• 1/3 cup tahini
• 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese
• 3 cup water, reserve 1 cup
• 2-4 tsp hot sauce, to taste
• 3 tsp onion powder
• 1 tsp garlic powder
• ¼ cup nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp prepared mustard
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 lemon, juice of 

Method:

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.
2. Peel and cube potatoes.
3. Peel and cube carrot.
4. Wash and dry broccoli, cut into bite-sized florets.
5. Prepare Chickapea Vegan Mac to package specifications (heat 8 cups of water in a large pot over high heat until boiling. Add pasta, decrease heat to maintain a gentle boil. Stir and cook pasta for 5 minutes).
6. Drain and rinse the pasta with warm water and add it back to the pot.
7. Mix the contents of the Vegan Mac seasoning package, vegan butter, and plant-based oat milk, into the pasta, stir until combined. Set aside.
8. In a medium pot bring 4 cups of water to a boil. Boil broccoli for 4 minutes
9. Drain cooked broccoli and add it to the Chickapea Vegan Mac pot, stir well to combine.
10. Transfer Chickapea Vegan Mac and broccoli mixture to an oven-safe pan such as a cast-iron skillet
11. Sprinkle 1/8 tsp of finishing salt over the contents of the skillet.
12. In a clean medium-sized pot, boil 3 cups of water. Once boiling add the cubed potatoes and carrot.
13. Boil the potatoes and carrot for 10 minutes.
14. Drain the pot reserving 1 cup of water.
15. Transfer 1 cup of water used to boil vegetables, plus cooked potato, cooked carrot, tahini, vegan cream cheese, onion powder, garlic powder, hot sauce, nutritional yeast, mustard, salt and lemon juice to a blender and process until smooth.
16. Pour desired amount of "cheese" sauce over the Chickapea Vegan Mac mixture (1/2 cup used in the accompanying pictures).
17. Bake in the preheated oven at 375°F for 12 minutes.
18. Once cooked, remove from the oven and serve immediately.
19. Enjoy! 

Recipe Notes:

• This recipe can be served warm or at room temperature, not cold.
• The recipe for the vegan “cheese” sauce will generally make more “cheese” sauce than you’ll want to pour over the skillet. Store the remaining “cheese” in an airtight container in the fridge to use as desired on nachos or other recipes.
• Tofutti brand cream cheese was used in the recipe.
• A very mild hot sauce is recommended for this recipe for flavour, not heat. Look for a hot sauce that is low on the Scoville Heat Unit (SHU) scale. A SHU of under 3000 is recommended.
• This recipe can be easily doubled or tripled in a casserole dish for larger groups or as a side at parties.